The Many Faces of SLC

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Chelsea Community Hospital Hits $1,000,000 Mark in Support of SLC

Twenty-five years ago, Will Johnson was the CEO of Chelsea Community Hospital, and was the first community representative to reach out to the priests of St. Louis Center with a local show of support. That support came in the form of a “dinner auction,” that would become the top grossing fundraiser for St. Louis Center in its history. According to Fr. Joseph Rinaldo, SdC. who was the administrator at that time, “We seemed to be in a transitional state of turmoil back then, and Will’s outreach really brought us into the Chelsea Community as a part of the family. Once we had the acceptance of the hospital; the schools, churches, and service clubs soon followed.”

This was the Silver Anniversary Year of the Fall Dinner Auction, and this year’s proceeds took the event over the $1,000,000 mark after 25 years. The auction was once again a sell-out with 180 people in attendance, and to mark the occasion, Fr. Enzo Addari, SdC. presented CCH Chaplain Kathy Schell with a colorful canvas painting from the residents of the center, and State Representative Mark Ouimet (R – 52nd), presented her with a recognition document signed by Governor Rick Snyder, and thanked the hospital for their support of St. Louis Center during the past twenty-five years.

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The State Council of the Michigan Knights of Columbus, represented by State Deputy Michael Malinowski, was on hand to donate $20,000, from the annual “Tootsie Roll Drive,” and Joseph Merkel, Jr. of Merkel’s Auction Specialists in Chelsea once again donated his professional services for this year’s auction Kathi Neuman of Chelsea returned as the Chairwoman of the event, with the continued support of Gloria Miller, and Ann Merkel and Sandy Zeeb served as the original chairs for this event in 1987.

For more information about St. Louis Center or this event, please visit the website at www.stlouiscenter.org.